


A Way Out

by Clefaiiiry



Series: Everyone is in Team Rocket AU [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Gold & Silver & Crystal | Pokemon Gold Silver Crystal Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Adoption, Gen, M/M, May will fight everyone, Team Rocket AU, Threats, idk what else to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 07:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13359294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clefaiiiry/pseuds/Clefaiiiry
Summary: Maxie gets back into contact with some old friends.





	A Way Out

“Can we take the warp pads today?”

“Maybe if you’re good.”

“You said that last time and we didn’t take it!”

“That was because you fell asleep before we could use them.”

May pouted and opened her mouth to argue when a pair of grunts joined them in the elevator, too busy chatting amongst themselves to pay them any attention. She shuffled closer to Maxie and took his hand. He lowered himself to her level and fussed with her hair for a few moments before she pushed his hand away.

“The bow isn’t too tight, is it?” Maxie asked softly.

“It’s fine,” she said, “you worry too much.”

“I worry the exact right amount.”

They reached their floor and Maxie fumbled to carry all his files. May ended up taking the lighter ones, stacked up in her arms and steadied with her chin. Between that and the strap of her bag trailing on the floor, it was a miracle that she didn’t trip.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take any more?” Maxie asked. She made a noise that translated as a firm ‘no.’

“I got it!”

Maxie wanted to point out how much it looked like she didn’t have it, but the look of determination of her face was enough to stop him.

The lab hadn’t changed much. One or two of May’s toys were lost under the desks, but time hadn’t phased the white walls in any other way. Fellow scientists had come and gone, but Maxie had stubbornly stayed put. He didn’t enjoy the work being handed to him, but the facilities allowed him to continue his own research in the background.

There were only so many DNA samples he could look through before his brain started turning to mush but so long as he balanced it out with myth study, he would survive.

He’d been hunched over his work, only serving to worsen his already bad back, for ten minutes when May plodded over and tapped him on the shoulder.

Maxie looked down to her and smiled. “What is it?”

“Can I help?” she asked.

Maxie stared at her for a second before nodding. “Okay then, but you have to be really careful, okay?”

She nodded. “I know, Mister Archer will get really mad if any of it breaks.”

“Awh, how come he’s ‘mister’?”

The two looked up to the doorway, where Petrel hovered. His posture was still awful, and he still had that silly goatee, but time had sagged his other features.

“Because Mister Archer gets mad really easy.”

“Yeah, he’s a real stick in the mud, isn’t he?” Petrel said with a grin.

May giggled and shushed him. “He might hear you!”

Petrel gasped in mock horror, covering his mouth. “Promise me you won’t tell him.”

Standing tall and crossing her arms across her chest, May thought for a long moment before she turned back to him. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

Petrel let out a sign of relief. “I am forever in your debt.” He seemingly noticed Maxie for the first time since entering the room. “How goes the test tubes?”

“Most of them are too damaged to be worth much of anything,” Maxie said without looking up.

“Ah that’s a shame...” Petrel scratched his head. “I’ll see if I can convince Ariana to send you fresh ones.”

The air in the lab was suddenly ice and Maxie fought not to shudder. Petrel seemed to notice the change as well.

“Are you slacking off again?”

Proton appeared behind Petrel, closer than necessary, his expression unreadable.

“Of course not!” Petrel chuckled. “I was just checking up on-”

“Right,” Proton huffed, “and this isn’t your sector. So get out.” His eyes darkened. “Or do you want to be sent back to Kanto? I’m sure there’s space for you in Lavender Town.”

“Well it was nice seeing you May, be good, eat your greens.”

Maxie wasn’t aware Petrel could move quite that fast as he fled the room significantly paler than he had arrived.

“Useless,” Proton grumbled. He stopped to adjust his gloves before he passed into the lab. “And you,” he spat, “can you really expect to get anything done if that kid is still here?”

“May keeps to herself,” Maxie said, struggling to keep his voice level, “I have no one else to leave her with anyway.”

“You could always leave her with Petrel, not like he works anyway.” Proton stopped to push some loose hair behind his ear. An attempt to use the silence to make Maxie uncomfortable. It worked better than Maxie would’ve liked.

“So long as I get the work done before the deadline, I don’t see why it’s a problem.”

Proton scoffed. “I’d hate to have to inform Giovanni-”

“Dad’s been working really hard,” May said, puffing up her chest as if it would make a difference, “So you don’t have to call Mister Giovanni.”

Proton smiled, sickeningly sweet and utterly fake. “My, my, you _are_ growing fast,” he said, reaching out to pat her head. She instinctively pulled back.

His hand twitched, hovering in place. Something terrifying passed behind his eyes but it vanished as soon as it appeared. That smile returned.

“Still shy,” he cooed, “don’t worry, you’ll grow out of it.”

She met his eyes and glared. “You can go away now.”

“May,” Maxie hissed, taking her arm and gently guiding her behind his legs.

Proton just laughed. “You’ve got guts kid, I’ll give you that.” His voice was dripping pure venom. May grabbed a fistful of Maxie’s lab coat, yet continued to glare.

“I’ll send the results to Ariana by the Sunday,” Maxie said, his words clipped as he met Proton’s eyes. They held no warmth and looked as if they never had.

“Make it Friday and I won’t tattle on you.” The heels of Proton’s boots clicked across the hard floor. “And teach your kid some manners.”

With that, he made his exit, the door sliding shut behind him. Once Maxie was sure he was gone, he turned and lowered himself to his knees, taking both of May’s hands.

“I have plenty of manners,” May sniffed, “just not for him.”

“I know you do,” he said, rooting around in his pocket for a handkerchief, “but you can’t just be rude to people you don’t like.” _Not to their faces at least,_ he wanted to add.

May nodded and took long, deep breaths, her eyes turning slightly red as tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

“Can I have a hug?” she asked, her voice small.

Maxie didn’t make her wait another moment.

 

* * *

 

 

Maxie was sure that if his parents saw how he was living since he moved out, they would have simultaneous heart attacks. Not that he cared, he hadn’t spoken to them in years.

Still, he wondered what they would do if they came over and saw his crappy apartment that he could barely afford even with the paper-thin walls and lack of hot water after 7pm. A nest of Rattata lived under the water boiler. He often left them leftovers.

“Look, the mommy Raticate is back,” May said as they went to climb the stairs.

The Raticate made eye contact with them and hissed. They both decided that the Pokémon were better left alone.

The key jammed in the lock again and, after a full minute of fiddling, it finally fit and turned with only the barest of complaints.

“Can we get pizza?” May asked as she toed off her shoes.

Maxie hung up his coat and helped May out of her’s. “We still have some left over from last time.”

“But cold pizza is gross.”

“If you don’t eat it, I’m sure Archie will.”

As if summoned by the mention of his name, Archie, poked his head out from the living area. “What’s this about free pizza?”

“No! It’s mine!” May yelped, scurrying away to the fridge.

Archie laughed, a deep, warm rumble that came from his chest. A few moments later, the microwave whirred to life, May watching her pizza slices spin inside with wide eyes.

“Do you want anything else?” Maxie asked. May shook her head, but didn’t look up.

Archie leaned against the wall beside Maxie with a goofy grin. “Hey there, handsome, you come here often?”

“Archie, I live here,” Maxie deadpanned.

With a pout, Archie said, “Awh, you’re no fun.”

“How was your mission?” Maxie asked as he pulled off his shoes and lined them up neatly next to May’s, “I didn’t think you were back for another week.”

“Shush,” he said with a wink, “I managed to get away early.” Archie leaned down and planted a kiss on Maxie’s cheek. Maxie tried to ignore how such a simple action still made his heart flutter.

May waddled past with her plate stacked high. The smell of greasy cheese filled the apartment.

“Did you leave any for us?” Archie asked as she perched in the middle of the sofa.

After a long pause, she muttered a, “no...”

They ended up reheating some stew that May had found too spicy. Archie took off his cap and threw it somewhere on the floor, running a hand through his hair as he dropped into the space to May’s right.

“You’re sat the wrong side,” May said through a full mouth.

“What?” Archie asked.

“Dad always sits on the right side, and you always sit on the left side.”

“Oh yeah, sorry, totally forgot.”

May rolled her eyes. “You’re forgiven.”

 

* * *

 

 

One of the benefits of having an apartment with only two rooms was that it was wonderfully cosy, even when the heater broke down for the umpteenth time. A downside was that roughly half of the living room had to be shoved into corners so there was enough space to roll out futons.

Maxie went to check the bucket in the hallway, positioned to catch a leak in the ceiling that the landlord wouldn’t pay to fix.

“We gotta find some other place before y’all catch something,” Archie said as he helped May into her pyjamas.

After a long moment, Maxie sighed. “I’ll consider it,” he said, although Archie didn’t look convinced.

Archie and May exchanged a look, but said nothing else on the topic.

Suddenly, Archie snapped his fingers.

“So, before you go to bed, May,” Archie said, “I gotta tell ya something.”

“What is it?”

“I got you a present.”

May shot up onto her tiptoes, “Really?!”

“Yeah, but you gotta close your eyes.”

May did as she was told and held out her hands.

“No peeking.”

“I’m not peeking!”

Archie took a Nest Ball from his belt and placed it in her hands. “You can open them now.”

The squeal May let out was ear shattering. “You got me a Pokémon?!”

“A-huh,” Archie said with a grin, “but you gotta promise not to tell anyone. He’s super rare and mean ol’ Proton might try to take him.”

Shaking her head furiously, May said, “Proton doesn’t scare me! He’s just a big bully!”

“Really?” Archie leaned down and lowered his voice, “Well, just between you and me I heard he baby-talks to his Weezing.”

“Oh, Dad does that as well with Camerupt!”

Maxie’s face went as red as his hair. “I do not!”

“Yeah you do! I heard you!”

“ _May,_ don’t you want to see what kind of Pokémon Archie got you?”

With a smug look, May pressed the release and the capsule exploded in red light, taking the form of a Treecko. The little Pokémon looked around briefly before heading towards May, sniffing and chirping in interest. She held her breath and reached out a tentative hand.

The air felt oddly tense as May held completely still, eyes not leaving Pokémon for a second. Once Treecko was satisfied, he scrambled up her arm and curled up over her shoulders.

“He likes me!” May giggled, petting the Pokémon with the upmost of care. Treecko trilled happily, snuggling his nose further into her neck.

“How did you even find a Treecko in Kanto?” Maxie asked. “It wasn’t... _acquired_ , by Team Rocket, was it?”

Archie scowled. “I wouldn’t give her one of those poor little guys. They’re better off going back to their old trainers.” He crouched down next to May and reached over to scratch Treecko’s back. “Nah, I got a friend back in Hoenn who sent him over.”

“I bet we can beat Dad,” she said smugly. Treecko chirped in agreement.

Maxie shook his head. “You have a Type-disadvantage, dear,” he said. May huffed.

“Me and Treecko are gonna be so good that we’ll beat you even with a Type-dis... Disad...” She pouted over the pronunciation of the word.

Archie placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke slowly, “Dis-ad-van-tage.”

“Dis-ad-van-tage,” she mirrored. She grinned. “Disadvantage!”

“There ya go, you got it!”

“It doesn’t matter if I have a Type-disadvantage! Archie can help me with Sharpedo!”

Maxie looked to Archie. “Would you betray me like that?”

“Hey man, the kid has spoken. We’re gonna kick your ass.”

May gasped loudly. “Archie said a bad word!”

With a chuckle, Maxie took the jar from the kitchen and held it out to Archie, shaking it for effect. “¥200 please.”

Archie just grumbled. “I knew suggesting that was gonna bite me on the a- butt...”

 

* * *

 

 

May fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow, snoring loudly with Treecko curled up on her chest. She had placed herself directly in the middle, squashed between Archie and Maxie, but she looked so comfortable that Maxie didn’t dare to move her.

Archie was long after her, rolling over a few times before he finally found the ideal position and dozed off, one arm slung over the two.

However, sleep did not come as easily to Maxie. He squinted up at the ceiling in the dark, listening to the traffic outside.

There was a light ‘ting’ noise and Maxie rolled over, as slowly as possible, to reach for his Poké Gear and glasses. He pushed up into a sitting position and checked for new messages. One in a group chat he shared with some friends back in Hoenn.

 **Tabitha, 23:49:  
** I would like you to be made aware that I am now a Deputy General Manager of the Devon Corporation.

 **Maxie, 23:51:  
** They’re that desperate, are they?

 **Tabitha, 23:51:**  
Rude.  
I shall refrain from sharing such news in the future if you’re going to be like that.

 **Courtney, 23:52:  
** r u still with team rocket maxie

 **Maxie, 23:52:**  
I didn’t mean it like that Tabitha.  
Unfortunately, yes.

 **Courtney, 23:53:**  
ew  
why havent you quit already those guys are the worst

 **Maxie, 23:53:  
** Trust me, I am aware that they are not the greatest organisation to work for.

 **Courtney, 23:54:**  
u shold come back to hoenn

 **Tabitha, 23:54:**  
*you *should  
Honestly Courtney, grammar costs nothing.

 **Courtney, 23:55:**  
eat my dick tabitha

 **Maxie, 23:55:**  
Now, now, there’s no need to be vulgar.

 **Courtney, 23:55:**  
okay dad

 **Tabitha, 23:56:**  
Anyway...  
If you are struggling in Johto, you are always welcome here.

 **Maxie, 23:56:**  
A lot has changed since we last saw each other, Tabitha.

 **Tabitha, 23:57:**  
What do you mean?

Maxie stared at the screen for a long moment before he took a deep breath. There was no way to dance around this any longer.

 **Maxie, 23:58:  
** I now live with my daughter and long-term boyfriend.

 **Tabitha, 23:58:  
** What?!

 **Courtney, 23:58:  
** yeah i cant believe someone wanted to bone him either

 **Maxie, 23:58:**  
She’s adopted.

 **Courtney, 23:59:**  
oh  
lol  
that makes more sense  
what’s her name?  
how old is she?

 **Maxie, 23:59:  
** Her name is May and she’s four.

 **Tabitha, 23:59:**  
You mean to tell me that you’ve had a child in your care for years and you never told us?

 **Maxie, 00:00:**  
It never came up.

 **Courtney, 00:00:**  
lol its kinda a big deal  
does this make me an auntie?

 **Tabitha, 00:00:**  
How are you raising a child while working for Team Rocket?

 **Maxie, 00:01:**  
With great difficulty.

 **Tabitha, 00:01:**  
You can’t spend another minute over there.  
You should come back to Hoenn.

 **Courtney, 00:02:**  
tabitha how the hell is he gonna just ditch team rocket  
they come for your ass if you desert ya know

 **Tabitha, 00:02:**  
I know!  
But there’s no telling which day might be his last!

 **Maxie, 00:02:**  
That’s reassuring.  
Why are you only bringing up such concerns now?

 **Tabitha, 00:03:**  
If it were just you, then it wouldn’t be hard to sneak you out of Johto if you were in trouble.  
But if we also have to sneak out your daughter and boyfriend, things get excessively complicated.

Maxie glanced down to where May and Archie were sleeping beside them. He’d never planned on how he would get away from Team Rocket territory should the worst happen. Best case scenario would have Petrel simply slap him on the wrist and demote him. Worst case scenario would be anything involving Proton. He’d seen what happened to anyone Proton got his hands on.

“You thinkin’ of ditching us?”

Maxie returned to reality and shook his head, realising that Archie had pushed up into a sitting position. Taking care not to squish May, Archie reached over to pull Maxie into an awkward half-hug.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Maxie said. Archie simply hummed in response.

“May told me Proton was giving you shit again today.”

“Language.”

“May’s asleep,” Archie said with a shrug, “but don’t try to change the subject. I’ll take care of him if he’s giving you trouble.”

“Archie-”

“I’m serious. The bastard has it coming.”

Maxie sighed and rubbed his temples. “I’d rather not engage him,” he muttered as he glanced back to his messages.

 **Tabitha, 00:04:**  
My point is that you really should be booking a ferry ticket.  
Or three.

 **Tabitha, 00:05:**  
Maxie?  
Respond.

 **Courtney, 00:05:**  
lmao hes not a poochyena

 **Tabitha, 00:06:**  
What if he’s in trouble?

 **Courtney, 00:06:**  
he probably went to take a shit calm down

 Archie pouted. “Who ya chattin’ with?”

“Have I told you about Tabitha?” Maxie asked without looking up.

“Is that the guy who looks like a Makuhita?”

Maxie covered his mouth with his sleeve and snorted. “Please don’t say that to his face.”

Archie grinned. “No promises.”

 **Maxie, 00:06:**  
I’m alive.  
Though your concern is appreciated.

 **Courtney, 00:07:**  
lol see? told you  
but yea max gtfo of johto if you know whats good for you

Archie made a gesture, asking if it was okay to peek. Maxie turned his Poké Gear towards him for a better view. It took a little while for him to catch up -Archie was a notoriously slow reader- but when he was finished, he let out a long sigh.

“Would you wanna ditch Johto?” He asked, the seriousness of his tone catching Maxie off guard.

“If it came to that…” Maxie glanced to May and pet her hair lightly. “Fleeing Johto may be the only choice available to us.”

“I mean, it’s not like we’ve got much to stick around for…”

Maxie frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, if you sneak out all your papers and shit, we can just bail.” Archie settled back down, pulling the blanket over his chest. “We could go anywhere. Sinnoh, Hoenn- hell, we could even go to Alola if we really wanted to push it.”

With a soft chuckle, Maxie said, “I’ve always wanted to go to Alola.”

“Then we’ll go. You, me, and May.” Archie glanced to the sleeping girl and smiled. “I reckon the little scamp would enjoy the trials more than gym battles, anyway.”

“I don’t even think we can afford to live in Alola…”

“We could get a boat house, go live in Seafolk Village.”

Maxie shuddered at the thought. “Perhaps not quite so close to the coast.”

“Me ‘n’ May’ll teach you how to swim, don’t you worry your little head.”

The genuine glee in his voice at the prospect made Maxie’s heart flutter in his chest. With one last thoughtful glance to May, we went back to his Poké Gear.

 **Maxie, 00:10:**  
Tabitha, Courtney, if possible, I would like to ask for your assistance.

**Author's Note:**

> can you tell i failed science in my gcses lmfao
> 
> so beginnings and endings are the my kryptonite, they're so harddd
> 
> i was trying to install lol on my new pc and it kept bugging out so i finished this off while i was waiting, as if writing this note, it's still fucking around and not installing properly i cry
> 
> anyway if y'all wanna see any other bosses in this rocket au just yell and i'll see what i can do :p


End file.
